


Heartbeats and Birdsong

by awintersrose



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Romance, Second Shinobi War, Truth and Beauty Bombs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 15:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16410905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awintersrose/pseuds/awintersrose
Summary: Sasori questions his artistic ideals when faced with a fleeting romantic moment.





	Heartbeats and Birdsong

**Author's Note:**

  * For [shipcat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipcat/gifts).



> Happy birthday to shipcat! <3
> 
> Based on a word prompt: Rubatosis - the unsettling awareness of your own heartbeat
> 
> Ultra mega rare-pair based on an AU in which Sasori fought in the second war as a young man and both he and Dan were taken as political prisoners in Amegakure.

This was never supposed to be, and yet it is. A partnership forged in the unlikeliest of places, between erstwhile enemies set upon destroying one another, in the name of a cause that has nothing to do with either of them. But they survived their joint tribulations, and to be without Dan is now a thought that Sasori does not wish to consider. On the contrary, he wants to keep him always, and knows all too well the very way that he could accomplish such a task.

The shinobi once known as Konoha’s Ghost is practically a perfect specimen, and in the past Sasori often wondered if his ability is one that might be especially useful. If what he knows of it is correct, with the right seals, Dan’s soul could remain, and truly be with him forever once all he is has been preserved.

Yet in ways that seem increasingly numerous over days that turn into weeks, and weeks that turn into months, Dan reminds him that beauty is not only found in a fixed point of existence, nor frozen in time. As much as there are moments he wishes could be suspended forever, immortalized as true art, to halt the passage of time and its scars would mean the ebb and flow of these moments would never have a chance to take form. And thus Sasori is left reeling within a quandary he will never put words to.

In these moments, he is conflicted.

When night descends, casting the desert in shades of grey, the air grows cold, and his traitorous heart with its dissonant beat rushes loudly in his ears, clashing with the tranquility of his partner’s natural rhythm. Dan turns over in his sleep, reaching instinctively for the warmth of Sasori’s body beside him; at first just one arm drawing him close. Then Dan’s slender form molds along the line of his back in perfect symmetry and somehow the serenity he carries within helps calm the percussive racing of Sasori’s heart, and the tortured thoughts of his mind.

The conflict and noise are held at bay once more, though for how long, he does not know.

When he wakes, he is alone in their bed, but the balcony door lies open to a blood-red sunrise shot through with golden light. The sight that greets him there is one more snapshot of such pitch and movement that he wishes to preserve for all time.

No one else would consider the moment anything but ordinary. His partner feeding the birds, still half mussed from sleep, shirtless and painted in the pastel rays of the rising sun. Perfectly at ease, perfectly mundane, and perfectly beautiful. When Dan senses him and turns back to look, the radiant smile on his face makes Sasori all too aware of the tempo of his now speeding pulse.

“It’s too cold this early to leave the doors open.” he says, grasping for words to say, anything to deflect from the flailing within him, and the affirmation of just how much such a simple sight has left him shaken.

Dan sets the bag of birdseed down and slips behind Sasori, his muscular arms looping firmly around his smaller lover’s form in measured movements, warm and more comforting than he will ever admit. Gently, his lips brush the russet locks of Sasori’s hair just along his temple. “I didn’t mean to wake you with a chill, but I’ll gladly help you stay warm. Will you watch the sunrise with me?”

Sasori gives a nearly imperceptible nod, and suddenly the rumbling beat in his chest is quelled once more, instead falling in time with the steady thud at his back, easing with each inhale and exhale. Dan leads him towards the balcony and bids him to look at the sky with its riot of soft color, like a silkwash painting made real.

“You should not be vexed on a day like today, my rosefinch.” Dan whispers turning Sasori in his arms, eyes bright and pale hair aglow with the splendor of the dawn. “Not when such lovely things come so easily, and they’re so close that it feels like you can almost reach out and touch them.”

Perhaps his partner is right. Such beauty must be celebrated, he thinks, pressing a kiss to the corner of Dan’s mouth, catching him completely by surprise. His delighted expression is another treasure to file away for safekeeping.

“Sometimes those lovely things are already within our grasp.” he muses, and his heart is satisfied.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all for reading - I do hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please do let me know your thoughts via kudos or a comment if you can. I adore hearing from you all <3
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr: [awintersrose.tumblr.com](http://awintersrose.tumblr.com)


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